Pause & Rethink

          It’s good to have healthy relationships, but some people can be bad for you. They can make you feel tired and stop you from being happy. It’s smart to know who these people are. Here are 10 kinds of people you might want to stop spending time with. 1. The Constant Critic      This person always finds something wrong with you. They point out your mistakes and make you feel insecure. They might say they are helping, but they just want to make you feel bad. 2. The Person Who Only Calls When They Need Something      This person only talks to you when they need a favor or some help. Once you help them, they disappear. This makes you feel used because they don’t care about you. 3. The Person Who Belittles You      This person makes you feel small. They put down your ideas and what you have done. They might tell a joke that makes you look bad. They do this because they want to feel better than you. 4. The Pers...

       Today, even though we have a lot of good things like technology and comfort, many of us feel tired and burdened. It's like an unseen weight is on our shoulders, and we wonder why it's so hard to just live. This feeling is not a weakness; it's a normal human response to a world that drains us.     This problem is real and not just a personal feeling. In the last 20 years, anxiety and depression have doubled, even though people are more aware of mental health. It seems our struggles are not only from inside us, but also from the way our world is built.     Our grandparents had different problems like hard physical work and war. But their lives were clearer: they worked, rested, and built families in a slow, real way. Now, our problems are things you can't see, like too much information and always comparing ourselves to others on social media.     One big reason for our burden is having too much information. We n...

     Have you ever finished a long day of work feeling completely drained, even though you barely moved from your chair? You’re not lazy—this is a new kind of exhaustion. Unlike past generations who got tired from physical labor, we now feel mentally worn out while our bodies stay still. Sitting all day shouldn’t be this tiring, yet here we are, struggling to even change out of our work clothes.      This exhaustion isn’t just in your head—it’s real. Scientists say our brains weren’t designed for today’s fast-paced, tech-filled world. Every notification, email, and distraction acts like a tiny stress attack, draining energy like a phone running too many apps. It’s not the good tiredness you feel after a workout; it’s a heavy, foggy fatigue that makes even small decisions feel overwhelming.      Modern work life secretly steals our energy in small ways. Stressful commutes, endless emails, and noisy offices slowly add up. Open workspaces, brigh...

     Rest is not just about sleeping. Our body and mind need different kinds of rest to stay healthy. We should think about rest in many ways, not only sleep at night.      First , physical rest means more than just sleep. It includes gentle stretching, yoga, or a massage. Our body works all day long, even when we are still. Stretching or moving gently helps our muscles relax and recover.       Second , mental rest is important too. Our minds often keep thinking nonstop, with worries and plans. Taking short breaks like deep breathing, looking outside, or writing down thoughts can help calm the mind and make it work better.       Third , sensory rest helps our senses relax. Today, we face bright lights, loud sounds, and screens all the time. Giving our eyes and ears a break—like closing our eyes briefly or going to quiet places—helps us feel calm again.       Fourth , creative rest means r...

               Have you ever looked in a mirror and truly liked the person you saw? Most people can't remember the last time this happened. This is because we often become our own worst enemy, acting as our own judge and jury. We are usually much harder on ourselves than we would be on a stranger.              Self-hatred isn't always obvious. It can be subtle things like rejecting compliments but holding onto criticism for years. It’s when you can forgive others but not yourself. It also looks like constantly replaying embarrassing moments from the past or trying to be perfect to feel worthy of love. This critical voice in your head has been taking away years of your life.             Many of us think these feelings are normal, and that everyone has this critical voice. But they are not normal; they are learned behaviors that can b...

    Modern life is full of noise and distractions. We are always busy with our phones, our jobs, and our problems. We don't often have time to stop and think about the deeper things in life. This is because thinking too much can be scary. When we are quiet, we might have to face a very hard question: Why do we live, if we are all going to die?      A philosopher named Peter Wessel Zapfe looked at this question. He believed that our human mind is a kind of mistake in nature. We are the only animals who know that we will die one day. Other animals just live without this knowledge. Because of this, we are forced to live in a strange way. We have to act like we will live forever, even though we know we won't. This creates a deep feeling of emptiness inside us. It is the feeling that comes when we are not distracted anymore.      To avoid this painful feeling, humans have created special ways to protect themselves. Zapfe called these "defense mechani...

           Sometimes in life, bad things happen to us, like losing someone we love, feeling sad, getting sick, or feeling alone. When this happens, we usually try to run away from the pain, ignore it, or hide from it. We often think that suffering means something is wrong with us or that we are failing. But a man named Viktor Frankl had a different idea. He believed that when we suffer, it can actually be the start of finding meaning in our lives.         Viktor Frankl was a doctor who lost everything important to him during a terrible time called the Holocaust – his family, his job, and his freedom. Everything he knew was taken away. But even in that very bad time, Frankl learned something important that helped him and many other people. He realized that pain can actually help us feel more alive.         Frankl wrote that when we can't change a bad situation, we are asked to change ourselves. He thought suffering was...